Happy October, everyone! As expected, our favorite month is kicking off with a ton of horror and sci-fi home releases – 25 to be precise – and there’s a great selection of new and old titles coming our way on October 4th. As far as recent movies, The Purge: Election Year, The Mind’s Eye, Swiss Army Man and Fender Bender all arrive on both Blu and DVD this week, as well as the stunning South Korean horror film The Wailing. Several great cult classics are getting the HD treatment on Tuesday, including Terence Fisher’s The Earth Dies Screaming and Richard Wenk’s Vamp (both hugely underrated films, in my opinion).

Other notable Blu-ray and DVD releases for October 4th include X-Men: Apocalypse, House of Manson, Daughter of Dracula, Sharknado: The 4th Awakens, They’re Watching and Chosen Survivors.

The Earth Dies Screaming (1964) (Kino Lorber, Blu-ray)

Their target: Humanity. Their mission: Total Annihilation! The world has just been decimated by an unstoppable, merciless army of killer robots, and millions of innocent souls have been wiped out! Only a handful of survivors have managed to escape the deadly alien apocalypse, and they must endure a non-stop struggle to save themselves from destruction, and somehow find a way to defeat the marauding death machines... before the entire human race becomes extinct! Legendary Hammer director Terence Fisher (Horror of Dracula) directed this Sci-Fi thriller written by Harry Spalding (Chosen Survivors) under the pseudonym Henry Cross and starring Willard Parker, Virginia Field, Dennis Price and Thorley Walters.

Bonus Features include Audio Commentary by Film Historian Richard Harland Smith, Animated Photo Montage and Trailers.

It has been two years since Leo Barnes (Frank Grillo) stopped himself from a regrettable act of revenge on Purge Night - the 12 hours of lawlessness. This year, the annual ritual comes at the eve of a heated presidential election with the nation deeply divided between those who are pro-­ and anti-­Purge. As head of security for Senator Charlie Roan (Elizabeth Mitchell), Leo's mission is to protect her during her controversial and contested run for president. But when a betrayal forces them onto the streets of Washington, D.C. on the one night when no help is available, they must stay alive or both be sacrificed for their sins against the state.

Special Features include Deleted Scenes, Inside The Purge and Character Spotlight: Leo.

Vamp: Special Edition (Arrow Video, Blu-ray)

THE FIRST KISS COULD BE YOUR LAST! Two fraternity pledges head to a seedy part of town to find some entertainment for their college friends but are faced with bloodthirsty vampires!

Keith (Chris Makepeace, Meatballs) and AJ (Robert Rusler, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy s Revenge) want to make the right impression at college and so they devise a plan to get them into the best frathouse on campus. They head to the After Dark Club where they want to find a stripper for a party their friends won t forget, instead they find themselves among vampires led by Kinky Katrina (Grace Jones, A View to a Kill)!

Almost certainly an influence on From Dusk Till Dawn, Vamp is superbly designed by many of Grace Jones own award-winning collaborators and features stunning effects by four-time Oscar winner Greg Cannom (The Lost Boys, Bram Stoker s Dracula). Delivering laughs and scares in equal measure, with the added bonus of vampy sex appeal, Vamp is a comedy horror romp with real bite! First pressing only: Booklet featuring new writing on the film by critic Cullen Gallagher

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:

High Definition digital transfer

Original mono audio

Subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

One of those Nights: The Making of Vamp - a brand new documentary featuring interviews with director Richard Wenk, stars Robert Rusler, Dedee Pfeiffer, Gedde Watanabe

Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by the Twins of Evil

The Wailing (Well Go USA Entertainment, Blu-ray & DVD)

In this unbelievably tense supernatural thriller, a foreigner s mysterious appearance in a quiet, rural village causes suspicion among the locals - suspicion which quickly turns to hysteria as the townspeople begin killing each other in brutal outbursts for seemingly no reason. As the investigating officer watches his daughter fall under the same savage spell, he agrees to consult a shaman for answers - unknowingly escalating the situation into something far more dangerous.

Over six years in the making, director Na Hong-jin’s meticulously crafted follow-up to the globally acclaimed THE YELLOW SEA and THE CHASER (his third to premiere at the Festival de Cannes) smashed box office records upon its debut in South Korea, where fans are already making return viewings to catch new clues and debate what’s sure to be the most talked-about ending of 2016.

Special Features Include Making of THE WAILING, The Beginning of THE WAILING and Trailer.

After falling in love with the horror genre at a very early age, Heather Wixson has spent the last decade carving out a name for herself in the genre world as a both a journalist and as a proponent of independent horror cinema. Wixson is currently the Managing Editor for DailyDead.com, and was previously a featured writer at DreadCentral.com and TerrorTube.com where her online career began; she’s also been a contributor at FEARnet as well as a panelist for several of their online programs.

Wixson recently finished her first book, Monster Squad: Celebrating the Artists Behind Cinema's Most Memorable Creatures, and is currently working on her second upcoming book project on special effects artists as well.